A smart sensor is a device that takes input from the physical environment and uses built-in compute resources to perform predefined functions upon detection of specific input and then process data before passing it on. Smart sensors are used for digital processing i.e. it converts the analog signal to digital. Thus, it can be used across verticals such as consumer electronics, automotive, industrial, medical, security & defence, and entertainment.

Increasing sales of electric vehicle plays a major role in growth of the smart sensors market

Increasing sales of electric vehicle is one of major factors for increasing demand of smart sensors. For instance, according to Coherent Market Insights’ analysis, around 962 thousand units of electric cars have been sold, globally in 2017 up from 695 thousand units in 2016. This increasing sale of electric cars has led to increasing demand for sensors in order to charge the vehicles and for other factors. Therefore, increasing demand for electric vehicle is positively aiding in growth of the market.

MEMS segment is expected to exhibit highest growth during the forecasted period

MEMS segment is expected to exhibit the highest CAGR during the forecasted period. This is owing to increasing usage of IoT and rise in usage of wearable devices such as smart watches. For instance, according to the Coherent Market Insights’ analysis, the sales of smart watches in 2016 was 0.038 billion and it has witnessed an increase of 0.075 billion in 2017. Smart watches consists of small size sensors, which in turn help in increasing demand of MEMS technology for application in these smart watches .Therefore, with increasing sales of smart watches is expected to help in fuelling demand for MEMS technology during the forecasted period. Moreover, increasing inclination towards smart home will provide another factor for propelling the demand of the MEMS technology during the forecasted period

Rising concerns over data privacy is expected to be a major restraining factor for growth of the market

Low consumer awareness regarding smart systems and increasing safety concerns of security of the data is a major restraint for growth of smart sensors market. For instance, according to Coherent Market Insights’ analysis, number of data breaches in 2015 was 781 million and it reached up to 1,095 million in 2016. The rate of generation of data is very high and the rate of data analysis is not as quick as required. As a result, the life of a new algorithm or platform is short and it gets obsolete quickly thus, leading to failure of system to handle the heavy traffic of data generated from smart sensors. This hampers the efficiency of entire system and is a major cause of concern for many companies as it results in loss of revenue. This is a major problem and is expected to be a factor negatively impacting growth of the market.

Global Smart Sensors Market: Regional Insights

On the basis of regions, the global smart sensors market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, Middle East, and Africa. North America accounted for the largest share in the global smart sensors market in 2016. The U.S. is the major growth engine in North America. This is owing to increasing initiatives from the U.S. government towards improvement of transportation facilities and implementation of intelligent transportation systems (ITS). For instance, the America’s Surface Transportation Act or ‘FAST Act’ was passed in 2015, in order to solve congestion issues, enhance transportation within the country, improve working efficiencies in transportation systems and commercial vehicles, and minimize vehicle emissions. Thus, increasing government support for improving transportation facilities has led to increasing demand for electric vehicles. Electric vehicles are incorporated with sensors for performing various functions. Therefore, as the sales of electric vehicle increases, it will lead to increasing demand for sensors. Hence, this factor helps in propelling growth of the sensors in this particular regions

Asia Pacific market is expected to exhibit highest CAGR over the forecast period and this is due to increasing deployment of smart city and smart infrastructure projects in this region. China, Japan, India, and South Korea are the major growth engines in the region. For instance, in 2015, Government of India launched ‘100 Smart Cities Mission’, which will require smart sensors for various applications such as roads, vehicles, and others.

Key players operating in the global smart sensors market are Rockwell Automation, Inc., ABB Group Ltd., Electric Company, NXP Semiconductor N.V., Honeywell International Inc., Eaton Corporation PLC, Renesas Electronics Corporation, Texas Instruments, Inc., Yokogawa Electric Corporation, and Omron Corporation. Players in the smart sensors market such as ABB Group’s Ltd., Honeywell International, and Texas Instruments, Inc. are focusing on product development strategy, in order to strengthen their foothold in the market. For instance, in March 2017, ABB launched the Ability Smart Sensor for motors, in order to identify inefficiencies within the system, reduce risks related to operation and maintenance, and others. These sensors help the plant operators to do effective maintenance planning for their motors, asses the efficiency of their operation and prevent costly downtimes.

About Author

Bill Carr is a Senior Editor at Plains Gazette, based in Austin. Previously he has worked for FOX Sports and MSNBC's "Morning Joe." he is a graduate of the Annenberg School at the University of Southern California. You can reach Bill via email or by phone

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